Hold Those Layoffs: GM Reassigns Lansing Workers as Trump Arrives

As President Donald Trump traveled to Detroit today to meet with United Autoworkers members and auto industry executives, GM announced it will redeploy 680 workers in Lansing that it had slated for layoffs.

On March 6, the automaker announced it would lay off 1,100 workers at its Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant—about a third of its workforce. The reason: it was phasing out production of its first-generation GMC Acadia at the plant.

Instead, approximately 180 Lansing Delta workers will be reassigned to the Flint Assembly Plant to support production of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-up trucks. Another 500 workers will stay in Lansing to support production of the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave in the first quarter of 2018, the company said in a press release.

In addition, GM said today it will increase production at its Romulus Powertrain Plant, adding 220 new jobs. In December, GM announced it was investing $493 million in the Romulus plant to build a new 10-speed automatic transmission for the 2017 Camaro ZL1 and other models.

At his meeting with auto industry executives today, Trump promised to push for lower fuel emissions standards but said automakers need to commit to hiring more U.S. workers.